Ask for ideas re child labor in India, Nepal, and Pakistan

Art Hansen resigned from his university at the end of fall 2007 semester to accept a fulltime position with Macro International, Inc. as the director of a three-year research project on children working in the export-oriented handmade-carpet industry in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Dr. Hansen will be based in Atlanta and commute frequently to India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the Washington, DC area.

The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), addresses the lack of reliable estimates of the prevalence of children currently working in the carpet industry as well as the working conditions for these children, especially the existence of the worst forms of child labor, including trafficking and bonded labor. The research will examine all aspects of the supply chain that processes the wool and silk used in handmade carpets as well as the actual production of the carpets by weaving, tufting, or hand-looming. The results of this quantitative and qualitative study will increase the knowledge base on child labor and inform policy-makers.

Dr. Hansen wants to hear from anthropologists and other social scientists with research experience in child labor, forced or bonded labor, child trafficking, and/or the handmade carpet industry in India, Nepal, or Pakistan. He wants to learn from colleagues about their methodological, theoretical, and substantive findings (trials, errors, and lessons learned).

Thanks, Jennifer,
I am trying not to get too involved in the sex trafficking literature as that is vast and somewhat diverting from my focus on children working in the carpet industry. However, references to literature and to social scientists working on children's issues in Nepal, India, and Pakistan are always welcome.
Art